Monday, 13 January 2014

THE MAGIC UNION OF TANGANYIKA AND ZANZIBAR

Zanzibar Yesterday celebrate 50 yrs of Independence this day was never celebrated beforein Tanganyika or become public holiday for the other side of the Union Tanganyika or celebrated in our Embassies overseas as part of our Magic Union Holiday but we always see the Magic of other side of the Union celebrated as Tanganyika Independence or Tanzania Bara Celebration as the Magic union holiday, yesterday President Jakaya Kikwete has declared as public holiday for all Tanzanians to celebrate the 50 years of Zanzibar revolution, regardless of yesterday’s celebrations. Kikwete made the announcement yesterday in Zanzibar where he joined other Tanzanians to mark the anniversary also attended by Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni. According to a statement availed to the media yesterday by State House, the Zanzibar Revolution opened doors for the Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar in April 26, 1964.

Earlier, in his address President and Chairman of the revolutionary government of Zanzibar Dr Ali Mohamed Shein declared today a public holiday in Zanzibar to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the revolution. He said the move was to enable Zanzibaris to fully celebrate the historical 50th anniversary of their revolution. The Zanzibar revolution on January 12, 1964 led by the founder of Zanzibar and Tanzania the late Sheikh Abeid Amaan Karume overthrew the sultanate, ushering in opportunity for the majority of people of Zanzibar to assume leadership positions in their government. Meanwhile President Shein has called upon Zanzibaris to work hard so as to boost the country’s economy as the best way to honour revolution pillars. This year’s revolution celebrations theme is ‘Let us maintain peace, unity and progress which are the fruits of our revolution. Revolution forever’.Shein said founders of the revolution and the nation had dreams to revamp the country’s economy for the benefit of their compatriots. “Today is the day to remember the victory of the people of Zanzibar. It is evident that the revolution ended oppression, brought equality and restored human dignity and respect to workers and peasants,” he said. He said within the period of 50 years, the Zanzibar revolutionary government has managed to implement and advance the objectives and targets of the revolution as the way to maintain the founders’ ambition to improve lives of their people. “Throughout this period the government set its own plans and implemented them successfully. It is evident that the Zanzibar revolutionary government did much more than what colonialists did in their 132 years of power,” he noted.

It is Nice to see President Museveni and President KiKwete to have Zanzibar Flags on there handsOne of the achievements which the President mentioned was the Constitutional change in 2010 which promoted unity and solidarity amongst the people of Zanzibar. According to him the change of the Constitution of 1964 in 2010 enabled parties with representatives in the House of Representatives to cooperate in running Zanzibar.“This has led to the formation of the government of National Unity which has to a large extent consolidated our unity and solidarity and contributed to the increase of pace of development in the country,” said Dr Shein.He said within the 50 years, the country has also made major strides in strengthening good governance and promoting human rights. He said with the 1984 Constitution, Zanzibar founded the principles of advancing the objectives of revolution. He noted that great achievements have also been made in revenue collection which has been increasing annually for example in the financial year 2012/2013 the country’s revenue reached 266.2b/- from 59.67m/- in 1964/1965. He noted that the economy of Zanzibar has grown to 7.0 percent in 2012/2013 and is expected to reach 7.5 percent by the end of this year. The 50th anniversary of Zanzibar revolution was colored by military parades, mass performances by children and various performing groups. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni commended Zanzibar for marking the 50th revolution anniversary urging them to maintain unity and peace established by the founders of the revolution. He noted that some people have been preaching disunity especially after the discovery of resources in their localities, saying in any group of people there are challenges as everybody is free to air their views. He stressed that people are the best resource ever discovered. He called on leaders to ensure that the people are empowered so that they can maintain the prevailing peace and unity in the country. ********